A Rush of Blood
by Kicon
Summary: "Blame it all upon a rush of blood to the head." While fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts, Parvati goes through a lot of changes. Written for the Woman in Black Competition by Hermione's Harmony.


**A Rush of Blood**

**Written for the Woman in Black Competition by Hermione's Harmony  
><strong>**Character: Parvati Patil**

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><p><em>He said, "I'm gonna buy a gun and start a war.<br>If you can tell me something worth fighting for."_

Everything happens really quickly during a battle. That was the first thing Parvati learned. It was nothing like how they practiced it during their Dumbledore's Army meetings, taking their time and not having to worry. Harry had been right from the beginning: they didn't understand what it was like to be in a battle fighting against Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort and knowing your life could be gone at any second. Now she understood all too well.

What she still didn't understand was how everyone could keep fighting without fainting from fatigue. Exhaustion and adrenaline were fighting another battle within her own body. She was struggling to simply get a good breath of air, let alone fight.

The reality that they were actually fighting a war sunk in slowly, like a black poison spreading through their veins. This was real. They were fighting for their lives, their futures, their _freedom_. People were dying. It wasn't another nightmare or a story from long ago. It was happening, and it was happening now.

_He said, "I'm gonna buy this place and burn it down.  
>I'm gonna put it six feet underground."<em>

The quick paced battle then seemed to move in slow motion, allowing her to take everything in. Clouds had rolled in overhead, casting an appropriate gloom over the scene. The air was thick with soot and dust from all the explosions and fires, making it hard to breathe in.

Her ears were assailed by a myriad of different noises: a child sobbing, pounding footsteps, a statue exploding, thundering roars from giants, shrieked spells, and a lot of screaming.

Everybody was covered in dust and dirt, their clothing black with dried blood. They were moving so quickly that they all blurred into one mass of people. It was hard for her to tell the difference between friend and foe.

Hogwarts itself was destroyed. Holes gaped in the walls, railings were gone, and rubble spread across the ground along with shattered glass and shards of wood.

_Honey, all the movements you're starting to make  
>See me crumble and fall on my face<em>

Suddenly, someone tackled her to the ground just as several spells blasted through the air where she would've been.

"Parvati, _pay attention!_" Ginny screamed as she shot numerous curses at the Death Eaters that had been approaching her.

Parvati opened her mouth to thank Ginny for probably saving her life when the red head scrambled up off of her and sprinted back into the thick of the fighting. She was about to get up when she noticed that she'd landed next to some dead bodies. And then she broke the only rule she gave herself when the battle started: don't look at their faces.

_He said, "I'm gonna buy this place and watch it fall.  
>Stand here beside me baby in the crumbling walls."<em>

They were two of her roommates: Fay Dunbar and Ginger Dirly. Their bodies were lying haphazardly, eyes staring glassily ahead at nothing. Parvati's chest tightened and tears formed in her eyes, even though she hadn't really known the girls.

A familiar scream caused her to turn her head and witness her best friend Lavender being attacked by Fenrir Greyback. Before she had a chance to move however, some members of the Order fought Greyback off, pausing to check her body before running back to fight. Lavender's hair was tangled and matted with blood, her skin torn and red.

_Some'll laugh and some just sit and cry  
>You just sit down there and you wonder why<em>

Panic set in then. Where were Dean and Seamus, whom she'd been fighting with at the beginning of the battle? Where were Harry, Ron, and Hermione? Why weren't they fighting with the rest of them? And where in the world was Padma, who she hadn't seen at all?

Hatred and fury mixed together within her just then, turning her mood black and dangerous. She wanted to kill Voldemort. She wanted to kill them all. How could they do this? How could they, in their right minds, massacre innocent people? It wasn't fair. None of it was.

She was done lying on the ground beside her dead friends. She propped herself up on her elbows, took a deep breath - and then she saw something that sucked all the air out of her lungs.

A girl about the same age as Parvati with long black hair held in a plait was fighting a group of five Death Eaters at the same time. She was doing well, firing spells quickly and accurately. Of course, the Death Eaters didn't like that, so a woman with electric blue hair reached forward as her back was turned and tripped her. The girl stumbled and all five of them shot the Killing Curse at her. The curses hit perfectly, right square in her chest.

Parvati knew the girl's name and who she was as well as she knew herself. It was her twin sister, after all.

_So meet me by the bridge, meet me by the lane  
>When am I gonna see that pretty face again<em>

Parvati didn't even know she was screaming until the Death Eaters who had just killed her sister looked over and saw her. As they slowly approached, the anger filled her one thousand times over. Her world was spinning from the rush of blood to her head, and her body trembled violently. Tears rolled down her cheek as she screamed again, this time filled with rage.

She rose slowly up off of the ground and straightened her black clothing, she thought how ironic this was. Black had always been one of her favorite colors, but now it meant something. It represented mourning for all those unfairly dead and destroyed.

As she stood and looked about, the world looked stange and different, even though nothing had technically changed. However, her whole world had shifted entirely. She'd just lost her twin, her other half. What was she supposed to do now?

First things first, she decided: annihilate the murdering psychopaths standing before her.

_And they call as they beckon you on  
>They say, "Start as you mean to go on."<em>

They called and jeered as they approached; among them was Fenrir Greyback, and her blood burned at the sight of him. He would be the second to go, after the woman with the electric blue hair. Her heart beat sped with fear as they approached, but she admonished herself. This was no time to be scared. She was a Gryffindor, wasn't she? And she had to be strong. For Padma.

Her hand tightened around her wand as she took a step forward. They laughed and made comments about how she was soon to join her sister, and how cute it was that she thought she could stand up to them. Her mouth twisted into a wry smile. They didn't know what she was capable of.

"_Die,_" she growled, wand held high above her head as she charged them and the world was bathed in green light before it all turned black.

_Blame it all upon a rush of blood to the head_

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><p>There it is! It's not quite how I expected it to turn out, but I like it none the less. I hope you all like it =) Please review!<p>

~Kicon

PS. In case you're wondering...yes, Parvati dies. But not before taking out Greyback and the woman! I have this weird idea in my mind that Hermione's the only Gryffindor girl in her year to survive. Yes, I'm twisted...

**Disclaimers:** The lyrics are all from Coldplay's "A Rush of Blood to te Head." Fay Dunbar is the name of one of Parvati's roommates; I made Ginger Dirly's name up since she's the "unidentified Gryffindor girls." The Death Eater woman with the electric blue hair is a random character I made up. And, of course, I don't own Harry Potter.


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